Sextile Venus-Ascedant
by AcaciaDawn105
Summary: Some time after the events of the movie, Jupiter has a visitor. Her cousin catches her with Caine (who things didn't go so great with), and all sorts of now issues occur. Not a great summary, much better story. Read and Review. Rated M for language and future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Sextile Venus-Ascendant**_

 _ **Chapter One~ The Libra**_

Kira Lee Morris stared down at the woman in front of her. She didn't know she was there yet, intent as she was on the scrubbing of the toilet she sat before. Something had changed. This wasn't the same woman she had followed around all her life, spent the night with countless times, and loved more than anyone in the whole world. Kira tilted her head as she watched the dark haired beauty before her, humming happily, as if she wasn't currently on her knees scrubbing crap out of a rich person's toilet. She sat back, tapping the brush against the rim before putting the seat down and flushing it. Exactly thirty seconds later, she had pulled her horrible pink gloves off, dusted her jeans down, and turned to find herself face to face with a pair of familiar hazel eyes.

"Lee!" Jupiter launched herself at her younger cousin. "When did you get in? Why didn't you call me, I could have picked you up? Does Mom know you're here? How did you even find us anyway?"

"Do you actually want me to answer, or would you rather just keep firing questions at me?"

Jupe smacked her arm with the gloves she still held. "Smartass. I don't know where you get it."

"Obviously from your side of the family." Kira laughed, hugging her cousin again. "It's good to see you. Aleksa told me you were up here, Vladie told me this was your last house today." Looking around, she nodded. "Frickin' rich people."

"Right?" Jupiter bobbed her head in agreement. "C'mon, we're all done, the owner should be here right about-" On the floor below them, a door slammed. "Now, apparently. Come on, if you're lucky, maybe she'll think you're one of us and you'll get a tip." Jupe nudged the younger woman and beckoned her to follow.

"Oh, Mrs. Jones, beautiful as usual." Gushed the platinum blonde woman that stood marveling at the shininess of her home. "And done before I was home, excellent. Now, here is your usual fee, and a little something for all you ladies, to get yourselves a treat." Sure enough, the woman, who might have looked a little over thirty, if not for the obvious signs of botox on her forehead, went down the line, handing each of the Jones ladies a bill. Jupiter had pulled Kira to the end of the line beside her. The woman handed each of them something without even stopping to look at them, expecting that she was just another cleaning lady. "Well, ta-ta for today ladies. I'll see you again later this week."

"Thank you for your generosity, Mrs. Russell." Aleksa gave her a sweet smile, beautiful even in her older years. It was easy to see where Jupiter got it from.

"Oh, think nothing of it. It is my husband's money, after all. Not that he cares what I spend it on. Have a lovely day, my dears."

"And you as well." With that, the line of women marched out the door, to make their way home.

Kira looked down at the crumpled bill in her hand, and almost choked to see the face of Benjamin Franklin staring back up at her. "Holy, shit. She wasn't kidding."

Jupiter laughed. "Yeah, Olivia Russell. She does that all the time. She must really be upset with him to have given all of us hundreds."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, my dear baby cousin," Jupe linked her arm through Kira's. "Mrs. Russell is a relatively nice lady, but her husband isn't so much. So, whenever he does something that upsets her, which is almost all the time, she goes out and spends as much of his money as she thinks she can get away with, including tipping the staff."

"Jesus Christ. And he lets her?"

Aleksa Jones joined the link on Kira's other side, leaning in conspiratorially "He figures, as long as she is kept happy, he can keep his young, beautiful, trophy wife and not have to deal with the hassle of a divorce, like his previous wife. A lesson to you girls, never rely on a man for anything. Make something of yourselves so that when you do meet the love of your life, he can proudly say to his friends ' _Yes, my beautiful woman, she takes care of everything!_ ' But, don't let him be a freeloader."

"You go it, Mama." Jupe laughed. "Come on, Kira, let's go do something tonight."

"What about family dinner?" Her mother asked.

"Ma, it's Friday night."

"Jupe, it's ok. It'll be nice to see the family. And besides, tomorrow is Saturday, we can hang out then. There's actually something I need you tell you guys...something the whole family needs to hear."

)0(

Dinner at the Bolotnicov household was never a dull affair. Between the multitude of people at the table talking and the arguing, it was a surprise that the neighbors never complained. Everyone was talking over each other, with Kira seated between Jupiter and Aleksa, when Vassily suddenly slammed his hand down at the head of the table.

"Now, Kira, Aleksa tells us you have something to tell us. I want to know, right this moment." Her distant uncle's heavy accent cut through the astonished silence like a knife. Pointing his finger at her, he said, "You better not be pregnant. I will not have another mouth to feed, _especially_ not from that _ublyudok*_."

"It's nothing like that, Uncle Vassily. You might actually be excited for this." By now, everyone had stopped eating and were staring at her in rapt attention. Kira took a big breath. "Mark and I broke up." The table erupted in a chorus of cheers. "What the hell?"

"Jesus, we were wondering when you would dump his sorry ass." Jupe rubbed her back, a twinkle in her eye. "Glad you finally came to your senses."

"Jupe, that's no-"

"Good to be rid of that _trata prostranstva**."_ Grandma Lyudmila said.

"No, you don't-"

Aleksa patted her back with a sweet smile, "You deserved so much better than him, my _milaya devushka***._ He did not treat you right. But, do not worry, you will find the right one. And when you do, it will be like sparks, fireworks in your heart."

Everyone was talking, getting louder as they tried to shout over one another. This is why she rarely visited in the first place, she couldn't handle her family. Closing her eyes in an attempt to block out the pressure that was building in her chest, her breath caught in her throat. Everything went quiet. Opening her eyes, she realized that they had stopped talking to stare at her, because she had stood up so quickly that she had knocked over her chair. "Excuse me." She whispered, throwing her napkin down on the table and running outside.

When the cold autumn air hit her cheeks, she took a few breaths to slow her pounding heart. She had to get a grip on this. Kira hadn't realized that she was moving. It wasn't until she stood before a fence to the alley of the apartment building that she saw that her feet had carried her away from the lights of the street. Goosebumps sprang up all over her body, having walked out without her coat. Kira simply ran her hands over her arms in an attempt to warm her skin, and continued down the alley and out the other side. Eventually, she found herself at the park she and her cousins had played at as children, bare as it was now after dark. Good for her, at least. The swing set on the other side of the playground beckoned to her.

It was nice to be alone. And at the same time, it wasn't. The quiet of the night gave her space to think and breathe without someone else being in her bubble constantly, but it also made her think of how vulnerable she was out here by herself. Anyone could come along. But, in this silent moment, she couldn't care less. It was peaceful, and the moon smiled down at her from the sky. Unfortunately, the stars were hidden from her sight by the usual smog of Chicago. That was one thing she would miss about being out in the countryside.

"Lee?!" Her eyes fell to the street where Jupiter ran towards her. "Hey, you ran out pretty fast. Are you ok?" The older cousin sank down into the swing beside her.

"I'm fine, just not...I couldn't really handle the family."

"I hear ya. They drive me crazy, too. But, I know you. I know when something is really wrong with you. You can talk to me, you know that." Jupe took Kira's hand as they swung in silence for a moment.

"Mark and I didn't break up."

"But, you said-"

"I know what I said. It wasn't mutual. Apparently he got it in his mind that I was cheating on him with his coworker."

"Where you?"

"Jesus Christ, Jupe, of course I wasn't! Lately Mark's been...different."

"Different how?"

"He's...he's just...I don't know. He got really jealous about stupid things. Me talking to friends, going out with them on the weekends, hanging out with some guys from work. When I'd start talking about coming to visit, he'd get really mad, talking about how I was trying to leave him, that I was going behind his back. One day, he just snapped. Called me a whore, and threw me out of the house."

"Just like that? Did you get any of your stuff?"

"Yeah, that's one of the reasons he thought I was leaving. I was packing to come visit. Asshole. We always end up picking the worst ones, don't we."

Jupe suddenly got a far away look on her face. "Yeah, I guess we do." Noticing the way Kira was holding herself, she snapped back. "Kira Lee?"

"What?" She swung her head around from looking back up at the moon.

"How long has it been going on?"

"Has what been-"

"How long was he hitting you?"

Kira's eyes widened. "How-"

"Holy crap, Lee, just answer the question!"

Kira looked down at her hand, which were twisting in her lap. "I don't really know. It just kinda...happened." Shifting, she pulled up her sleeves to show the handprints that adorned her arms. Jupiter grabbed her wrists, pulling her closer.

"How do you not know when this happened? Christ, Lee. Have you called the police?"

"I already tried that. You really think I'm that stupid?"

"Oh, let's see...You stayed with that jerk for, what, three years? And in all that time, you never said anything, never tried to get away?"

"Of course I tried!" Kira ripped her hands away. "I tried to tell the police, but he has friends on the force, good friends that would never believe that he could do such a thing. They were convinced I had done it to myself. Listen, it's done with. I'm away from him, he's a thousand miles away. I just...need a place to stay for a while, till I can get on my feet."

"Well, you won't have to. As it happens, I've been thinking about getting my own place. You can live with me. It would make it easier on both of us if we didn't have to do it alone. Besides, there's always room for another maid on the crew. Money's pretty good, tips are even better. We could make it."

"Wouldn't your boyfriend mind?"

Jupiter snorted. "Boyfriend? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Aunt Aleksa said you'd been dating someone for a while the last time I talked to her." Kira watched as a blush made its way across her cousin's cheeks.

"Oh. No, that...that didn't pan out. We haven't seen each other in a while." She seemed lost in thought, only to break out of it a moment later. "Anyway, we can go looking for a place tomorrow, see what kind of places we can afford."

)0(

Later that night, Kira was curled up on a cot in the corner of the women's room of the house. Her back was killing her and she couldn't find a good way to sleep. The house was eerily quiet, broken only by the sound of the aunts snoring softly. Finally having found a semi-comfortable way to sleep, Kira settled down. At least, she did until something hit the window.

 _Plink...plink...plink_

She was literally just about to get up when she noticed Jupiter stirring in her bed. Kira stopped moving. Why the hell was she getting up in the middle of the night? Why was there someone throwing something at the window? Stilled, Kira watched her cousin tiptoe out of the room. Ever the curious one, she had to follow, but not before rearranging her covers to look like she was still there. Down the hall, down the stairs, and out the back door, she followed. Jupiter turned into the same alley she had walked down earlier. Glad that she had not put any shoes on, Kira made her way, hugging the wall, and then leaned just enough to put her cousin in the line of sight of one of her eyes. There she was. And there was someone else. A man, by the looks of it.

 _Maybe it's her boyfriend...maybe she lied so that I wouldn't bother her about it_. But they never lied to each other. He was tall, taller than Jupe and taller than her probably. Though, she couldn't see his face, she could hear him.

"You need to be careful. You can't just go out on your own like that." His voice was low, whispering so that Kira had to strain to hear him.

"Shut up, I'm a grown ass woman. I couldn't just let her run off like that. She was hurt."

"More than she let on. You might need to take her to a hospital. I smelled blood." _What the hell?!_

"You know, there's more than one explanation for that." Jupiter snarked.

"Yes, I do. I also know the difference between _that_ and regular blood, which is what I was smelling." Kira wrapped an arm around her torso. The movement made her step forward with one foot, right onto a dry leaf. It crunched softly under her. It shouldn't have been loud enough for them to hear, but watched as the man's head turned, his eyes flashing in the low light. _Shit_. Kira took off as quietly as she could back into the house. She had jumped back into bed and settled back down right as Jupiter came through the door.

What had happened to make Jupiter think she needed to hide things from her?

)0(

Sure enough, Jupiter was up and ready to go early the next morning. She had already gone out to get the paper so they could look at the classifieds for a place, and had the coffee on with breakfast made by the time the younger woman woke. Kira stumbled into the kitchen around 8:30, eyes barely open behind her glasses, hair in complete disarray.

"Good morning, my sweet baby cousin." Kira just glared at her before clunking her head down on the table.

"Why the hell are you so peppy this morning? You are never this excited first thing." Neither of the young women had ever really been morning people, one of the many things they shared in common.

Jupiter set a coffee mug down in front of Kira. "I dunno, I just...I recently had a new outlook on life, and now..."

"Now, you're the queen of caffeine."

With a laugh she said, "Yeah, something like that. Come on, Lee, this will be good for the both of us. Just think, you and I can have girls night every night. We can talk about boys without the family always butting in, we can actually get some sleep at night, keep alcohol in the house. You could work with me and the others."

"Darlin', I love you, I really do. But, if you don't get the hell out of my face before I've had a chance to drink my coffee, I might very well punch you in the face." This brought on another round of laughter from the older woman. Kira took a sip of the sweet nectar in her cup, sighing. "I'd love that. But, I doubt I'd be much help cleaning houses. I'll probably find a job at a restaurant eventually. Lord knows there's plenty to go around."

"True. Well, come on, let's see what kind of places there are in the area."

The two of them sat there for a good hour, circling places they thought looked good, making a list. By the time anyone else was up, they had a good idea of what they were looking for. Aleksa had just walked through the door as Jupiter had gotten up to get more coffee. When she passed Kira, she suddenly seemed wide awake.

 _"Milaya devushka,_ what happened?" Jupiter was at her mother's side in less than a second, watching in horror as the older woman pulled the back of Kira's shirt up, exposing bruises all the way up and around her side.

Kira yanked away, I fell down some stairs when I was leaving Mark's house."

"No, my dear, stairs did not do that. Who? Tell me, who has done this to you so that I can give him the beating he so sorely deserves."

Jupiter grabbed her hand, making her look up. The expression on her cousin's face told her all she needed to know. "We are taking you to the hospital right now."

"I'm fine. It's just bruising. Nothing's broken, nothing's bleeding, I'm fine." Kira was suddenly brought back to the previous night when the mystery man in the shadows had told Jupe that he could smell blood on her.

"Mom," Jupiter pulled her up, tugging her through the door. "Lee and I need to have a talk, we'll be back in a little while." Without waiting for an answer, the two were gone, leaving a very confused Aleksa standing in her nightgown in the middle of the kitchen. Down in the alley, Jupiter spun around on her heel to face Kira. "He did that, didn't he."

"Jupe-"

"No, don't you ' _Jupe_ ' me. Answer the question. Did he do that, when he thought you were trying to leave him?" Kira didn't answer. "Christ, Lee. This could guy could have killed you, and you say you're fine? You're not fine!"

"I told you last night, it's done. Over. He and I don't have anything to do with one another anymore. And I don't need you and your secret boyfriend sneaking around behind my back to make sure I'm ok."

Jupiter stopped and gaped at her cousin. "What?"

"Yeah, I know about the guy. I was awake when he started throwing rocks at the window last night. Honestly, I'm surprised no one else woke up. You were freaking me out, so I followed you down stairs. What kind of freak can _smell blood_? I've never even seen the guy, so he can't have been close enough to get any kind of scent off me. You and your creepy ass boy toy need to keep your noses out of my business. I'm handling it, ok?" With that, she stormed off back inside to grab the paper off the table where they had left it. Jupiter was still standing outside when she walked back out. "Shut your trap and let's go. These places aren't going to stay there forever."

)0(

The rest of the family wasn't too happy that the girls were moving out, though Grandma and Aleksa agreed that they needed to have their own space, start out in their lives away from the family. So, two weeks later, the family had taken the day off to help the girls move their things into the new apartment they had found. It was a steal, considering how nice it was. But, the owner was an old lady, and the building was completely empty save for one old man that had about twenty cats living with him. Kira hadn't brought up what she had seen in the alley, nor did Jupiter say anything about knowing that she had been listening. They had paid the deposit for the apartment with some of the money Jupe had saved up, and the first month's rent with Kira's money. Starting the coming week, Kira would be working with the other ladies, at least until she found another job.

Kira's room was rather bare, once she had unpacked her meager belongings, with only a thrift store mattress on the floor, a desk lamp beside it so she could read, books piled on the other side, some clothes on hangers in the closet, and two or three small boxes of personal items in the corner. Vassily had bought her some sheets for the mattress, so at least she had a blanket. The rest of the house was slowly filling with old things that Vassily was glad to get rid of, such as a couch, some cookware, and Vladie's old TV. Jupe had more money, so she was able to buy herself a real bed set, and she had her dresser and other things to decorate. By comparison, it was rather sad.

On the bright side, their fridge and cabinets were filled up, courtesy of the family, and the building had internet. The girls decided to celebrate after the family had left, making spaghetti and meatballs, and breaking out some wine to go with it. The Fluffy Movie played on the TV via Netflix, as the two of them laughed themselves giddy.

"Oh, god, Lee. It's so nice to finally have a place of my own." Jupiter poured herself another glass of wine.

"Mmm," Kira had been taking a sip. "Technically, it's not just your own. I live here, too."

Jupiter threw a pillow at her, causing her to laugh loudly. "Brat! You know what I mean."

"Yeah, yeah, I got ya." The movie came to an end, and Kira looked down at her watch. "Jeez, it's already 12:30. How the hell did that happen?"

"The joy of being a young, independent adult, and the wonderful company of one's best friend will certainly do that." Finishing off her drink, Jupe slapped her cousin's knee. "C'mon, bedtime."

"I hear that." Then she caught sight of the mess in the kitchen. "Damn. Ok, put these to soak, then clean 'em tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me. We just gotta make sure we don't, ya know..."

"End up being slobs? Yeah, no. Your ma would kill us." Jupiter rolled her eyes as a way of saying _Don't I know it_.

With the kitchen mostly clean, the two of them hugged and went to their separate bedrooms.

It was almost an hour later, Kira had fallen into a slightly alcohol induced doze, when she woke up to the sound of her window sliding open. It wasn't quiet, not like in the movies. She lay still as death, watching in fear as a large form slid gracefully through the small space and dropped to the floor. Her hand moved ever so slowly to the object she kept by her sorry excuse for a bed. Heavy boots thudded against the wood as the figure stood there for a moment, before making it's way over to where she lay.

"Your Majesty?" He whispered.

He was answered by her swinging her baseball bat against the side of his head. Flicking on the light, she jumped up and hit him again, a cry escaping her as she brought it down again. The man growled as he reached up with one hand to protect his face, grabbing the bat away from her in the process. Just as he was beginning to hit back, Kira's door swung open, Jupiter yelling for them to stop. Both of them stopped moving and looked at her.

"What the holy fucking hell! This creep just crawled in through my fucking window!"

"Lee, calm down. Jesus Christ." Jupe moved across the room to check on the man. "He's a friend of mine."

"A friend?! What the hell kinda friends do you keep? Friends don't sneak through a window in the middle of the goddamn night, and then call someone 'Your Highness.' I'm not going to calm down until you explain what the _fuck_ is going on!"

"I thought you would have told her." The man stood to his full height, towering well over Kira's 5'6" stature. "Considering she saw us together."

"Holy fuck." Was all she said. Before her stood someone who didn't look quite human, given that his ears were pointed, as well as a few of his teeth, and his eyes were an odd color. It didn't help that he was wearing clothes like nothing found on Earth.

"Lee, this is Caine Wise. Caine, this is my cousin, Kira Lee."

'Pleasure to meet you." He bowed slightly. "I apologize for the intrusion. I thought the window lead to Her Majesty's room. Apparently, I was mistaken."

"Caine, quit with the _majesty_ stuff."

"Sorry," he looked down at his feet, which were clad in clunky looking boots.

"You have fangs," Kira whispered, more to herself than to them.

Jupiter's eyes shot to her, Caine having already heard her. "What was that?"

"He's got fangs..."

Caine's oddly-colored blonde beard moved as he chuckled. "I forget sometimes how you terrsies can be."

Jupe slapped his shoulder. "Don't be rude."

"I wasn't trying to be. I was simply stating that when faced with something new and strange, you tend to become either defensive, or..." His eyes cut back to her, "you point out the obvious. Yes, I have fangs. Most Lycantants do."

"What the hell is a Lycantant? Who the hell are you? Why the hell are you even in my room to begin with?"

Both of them were silent for a moment. "I thought we already went over this..." Caine replied. "My name is Caine Wise, I am here because I was mistaken in thinking that this was Her Ma- Jupiter's room."

"Yeah, I got that part. But, that still doesn't really answer who you are to her and why are you trying to sneak into her room in the first place."

Another awkward pause. "I have some important business to discuss with her."

"At almost three o'clock in the morning? What could possibly be that important, that it couldn't wait until a decent hour?" Both Jupiter and Caine looked like children who had been caught doing something naughty. "Wait, wait, wait. Jupe, is this the boyfriend Aunt Aleksa was talking about? The one _you_ said, and I quote, ' _didn't pan out_ '? That boyfriend?"

"If by a male who is a friend," Caine cut in, "then yes, I do consider myself her _boyfriend._ "

"No, Caine, that's not what she means. She means are you and I in a relationship."

"Of sorts, yes."

Jupiter slapped her palm against her forehead. "A mated-pair relationship. I swear to god, you and your damn dog habits."

"I think I need to sit down." The bickering was cut short, by Kira stumbling backwards toward her bed. Her arm was caught in a large hand, helping her sit down slowly. She came face to face with Caine, just as he was pushing her head down.

"Put your head between your knees, breathe through your nose. It'll keep you from having a panic attack."

"I know how to fucking stave off a fucking panic attack." Kira's arms flailed a bit, knocking him away. Caine put his hands up in surrender and sat back.

"I can see that the Bolotnikov temper runs in the family."

"I'm not a Bolotnikov. I'm a Morris. Jupiter is my cousin by marriage, several removed. You," she pointed at the woman in question, "You have a _lot_ of explaining to do."

This led to a very long night of the three of them seated in the living room, Jupiter explaining, with Caine jumping in every once in a while to correct or help explain something. At one point they had to stop because it was very obvious that Kira was no longer listening, just staring off to the side of Caine with rapt attention.

"What are you staring at?" Jupiter finally asked.

Kira was quiet a moment more, before taking in a deep breath to answer. "Your ears keep moving." She said simply.

At that, Caine burst out laughing. Both women jumped at the sound. Jupiter couldn't remember the last time that she had ever heard him laugh like that. "Of course they do."

"I knew a guy in school who could do that once. But..."

"It's a little different, right?" He finished for her. "It's because I'm not trying to make them move. It's an involuntary action, like you would see in a dog or a wolf. Considering I'm a Splice..."

"Human mixed with some sort of animal, yeah, got that..."

"So, what is it that confuses you?" He asked.

"Lots of things. Like how it's possible that things like you exist. How my cousin is some sort of reincarnated queen who now holds ownership over the entire Earth, and that's the only reason I and billions of other people aren't dead right now. How instead of just coming out and telling me that you had some sort of...guard tailing you, you decided to hide him away in the shadows. This whole thing is confusing and it's really late...my brain is not firing on all cylinders right now." Getting up, she stood for a moment, as if not really sure what she was supposed to do. Turning in place, then turning back, she pointed to Caine. "You don't go anywhere, ok? You two might have to re-explain this whole crazy situation."

"What about the family?" Jupe asked.

"I just found out that my cousin is the ruler of the world...an alien ruler, with an alien, Splicer, bodyguard."

"I'm a _Splice_ , not a Splicer. A Splicer is the person a Splice is sold to, to be spliced, and trained."

"Yeah, whatever. Look, point is, I need time for my brain to process all of this, and figure out whether it's all a dream or not."

"I'm sorry to drop this on you, Lee."

Kira waved her hand, dismissing her apology. "Dog-boy is sleeping on the couch tonight. Where have you even been sleeping all this time?"

"I-"

Kira's hand went up again, stopping him. "Nevermind. I can't process any more information right now. I'm going to bed. Goodnight. And no hanky-panky! At least not tonight."

"Shut up and go to bed, Lee."

Once Kira had left the room, Caine turned to her. "Why do you call her Lee, if her given name is Kira?"

"Oh, she went through a phase when we were little where she hated her name, and told everyone she wanted to be called Lee. We typically only call her by her first name when she's in trouble."

"I see. So, I assume I am to be camping on this rather lumpy piece of furniture for the night?"

"You would assume correct. If Lee were to wake up and find out you were gone, she'd think she was going crazy. It might be good to have at least one other person know. I need someone to talk to about all this." At the look she was given, Jupiter scoffed. "Someone besides you, _dog-boy._ You tend to be a bit thick sometimes. At least she would understand what it's like being born on Earth. Maybe one day we can take her to visit the Orus. Or even Kalique's planet. That one was beautiful."

"Perhaps...if she doesn't do something stupid to get you killed first."

Jupiter laughed. "Go to sleep, Caine. I'll see you in the morning."

)0(

 **A/N: So, I actually just watched the movie Jupiter Ascending today. It wasn't as bad as I was led to believe. Eddie Redmayne's character was probably the worst part of the whole thing. Wolf Channing is damn hot though. As for the translations from earlier in the chapter, here they are.**

 ***-Bastard**

 ****-Waste of space**

 *****-sweet girl.**

 **Read and review, my lovelies. Give me something to work with.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two~ Wind Under My Wings**_

 **A/N: Right now, I'm listening to a playlist of Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, and others of the similar genre, so now you know the rhythm I'm working with right now...**

 **Enjoy.**

Sunshine beat down through the uncovered window, the heat of it warming her skin, but the light danced behind her eyelids. Swirls of red and orange hypnotized her in her half-sleep state. It was quiet, peaceful, warm. Dreams of the night before swam just at the edge of her mind, barely there, only enough that she couldn't quite remember what she saw when she tried to grasp at the images. Eyes the color of a stormy ocean when the sun hits it in the evening. Ears, pointed...like something out of a Lord of the Rings movie. Something strange about the person who all those belonged to.

Then it all came flooding back.

Kira's eyes shot open, the memories of everything that had happened the night before, the man crawling through her window, the fight, the story...maybe it _was_ all a dream. Sitting up to put her feet on the floor, she hugged her knees for a moment. There's no way it was real. Sure, she believed that there was something else out there, considering that it was physically impossible for them to be the only inhabited planet in the mind-bogglingly huge universe. Kira stood up and crossed the room to her window, inspecting it. Nothing. There was nothing to betray whether or not someone had actually come through it. With a sigh, she opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Turning the corner, she stopped.

There he was, every bit as large and odd looking as she remembered from the previous night. The light from outside had traveled up his body, illuminating his beard and hair. What was it Jupiter had said? He's half-albino. He was born the smallest out of his _litter_. How does a human sized woman give birth to a litter of human sized babies? Even in his sleep, she watched his ears twitch, one arm slung above his head, the other resting across his stomach. Unlike last night, his face wasn't constantly a plain of emotionlessness. Right in that moment, Caine's face was relaxed, peaceful, without the worries of having to protect the woman that was still asleep across the hall. Kira's eyes roved over his body, noting that his heavy looking boots rested on the floor beside the sofa, and his jacket laid over the back of it. That was when she noticed something else...

"Wings," she breathed to herself. "Of course, he has freakin' wings." Folded against his body on the rather small couch, his left one lay between him and the back of the it. The other drooped off the edge, not quite touching the floor as the end of it was tucked up underneath his thigh. Hanging at an odd angle, she couldn't imagine that it was at all comfortable; rather more like laying on an arm or leg in the middle of the night and waking to it feeling numb and in pain at the same time. Crossing the room quietly as possible, she knelt down beside the sleeping Lycantant. Kira took a moment to make sure that his eyes were actually closed and his breathing even, then eased the feathery appendage out from under him. He didn't hardly move as she managed to finally free it. The wing extended once loose, fluttering down, half on the ground, half on her lap, and she was struck by how soft it was under her fingers. Gold streaks were interwoven through the tawny coloring, creating an interesting sense of dimension to them. She was entranced by them, the silky feel that birds on Earth lacked.

"What are you doing?" Kira fell backward onto her ass at his voice. Hazel eyes met green in astonishment.

"Yo...you looked uncomfortable. It was stuck, I was just-"

"Stroking my wing." He said plainly. The wing in question moved slightly, brushing against her leg.

Kira pushed it away in irritation. For once, she was really glad her Mediterranean coloring didn't allow her to blush very much, as they were burning. "I was not!"

Caine sat up, with a small chuckle, "Whatever you say."

Jupiter stepped out of her room shortly after to find the two of them still sitting there. Kira was sitting cross legged, staring at the man before her with her eyes narrowed; Caine had since finished putting his boots on and was now cleaning one of his guns while looking back at her every once in a while with an eyebrow raised. "Lee, what are you doing?"

"Making sure he's actually real, and not a figment of my imagination."

"If I am, then your imagination has very good taste," the Lycantant smirked. Kira's response was to throw the closest thing at him, which happened to be the same pillow Jupiter had thrown at her the night before.

"Stop, you two. Lee, he's real, get over it." Heading to the kitchen, she said, "Caine, coffee?"

"Sure, why not." Following his queen, Caine's wings drug lightly on the floor behind him. Kira continued to watch him from her seat on the hardwood. "Your cousin is strange."

"I know."

"She keeps staring." Sure enough, her eyes followed him as he stood leaning against the counter. "She's very odd." Hearing him say so, the girl got up from her position and retreated to her room.

"She just doesn't know how to deal with all this. It is kinda hard to believe. Give her a little time, she'll come around, warm up to you."

"As you say, Your Majesty." In truth, he had already been awake when he heard the first stirrings of the younger woman waking up. The moment she set her feet on the floor, he felt her movements. When her door opened, he had been immediately assaulted with the smell that was very much her own. Everyone had a different scent. Jupiter was naturally rosey and royal. Her cousin was different. Sure, there was that flowery smell that all healthy young terrsies seemed to have, each slightly different. But, under that, something much more rough, almost like lightning to his nose. He had heard her soft exclamation after seeing the feathery appendages that adorned his back, but it had really surprised him when he felt her come closer and actually touch him. Even in the time he and Jupiter had been in, what she had called, a relationship, he hadn't realized how sensitive the feathers were. He could understand why. To be able to fly as agile as he did, they had to be able to detect the slightest change in the air.

The girl returned with a device he had come to know was a phone, a sort of contact device. Plugged into it were a pair of headphones, which were fit snuggly in her ears, though he could still hear the music that came from them. She moved past him to help her cousin make breakfast. Neither said anything to the other, only moved in perfect synchronization. Caine stood out of the way, watching, ever on the alert. From his post in the corner, he examined the differences between the two of them.

Where Jupiter was short and thin, Kira stood a few inches taller and a bit more plump. One had straight black hair, the other was at one time a light brunette, as the roots of her hair betrayed. At the moment, all but two inches of it were bottle blonde with faded out red at the tips that sat in naturally soft waves. He could only imagine that it was supposed to be an attempt at looking similar to a flame. Jupiter's Russian heritage gave her a creamy, naturally dark tone. On the other hand, Kira was slightly paler, but with more of an olive tone, higher cheekbones, and smaller, more upturned eyes. In their noses and lips, at least, they were similar, though the younger woman's were slightly thinner, her features not as soft as her cousin's.

The song changed. It was something fast paced, with a thumping beat that had the girl dancing. Jupiter rolled her eyes. Their choice in clothing was different as well. Where Jupiter slept in white and pink shorts and a tank top, Kira wore a pair of baggy sweat pants and a sweater that was large enough that the sleeves fell over the tips of her hands, but small enough that it hugged her form loosely. Even in the rectangular wire spectacles she wore, her face had a nice shape to it. Out of the many muffled words in a language that he couldn't understand, the only thing he could were two words, repeated over and over. _She bangs, she bangs_. At the beat, her hips would punch out, left or right, and would gyrate in between. The girl began spinning in place, almost as if she had forgotten that the other two were there at all.

At least, until she spun right into him. The abrupt stop caused her to stagger, which automatically caused him to reach forward to prevent any injury. Only to have her step right on the tip of his wing, grinding it when she shifted to get away. A low growl ripped its way from his chest and he bared his teeth at her as his grip tightened around her upper arms. The change was instant. The carefree girl that had been dancing around was gone, and was replaced with wide eyes and a soft cry of fear. Beneath his fingers, she trembled. It took less than a moment before she started frantically trying to pull away from him, slapping her hands against him.

"Let me go. Let go! Get off!" The blows shouldn't have hurt, but they did. With each one, it felt like he was being shocked, pangs of emotion, fear, rolled through his body. It was not his...

Jupiter jumped in, trying to reassure her cousin. "Lee, it's ok, it's just Caine. He's not gonna hurt you. Just calm down, you're safe." Finally pulling her away, and into her embrace. "He can't get you. You're ok." Then, Caine remembered what she had told Jupiter that night in the park.

Someone had hurt her. The same man that Jupiter had asked him to track down. At first he had said no, as it wasn't a priority for her protection. Something in Kira's eyes, in that moment...made him growl again.

"I'm sorry." Both women looked at him. "I didn't mean to scare you. You...you stepped on my wing." Jupiter's eyebrow rose. "It hurt," he explained. "I swear, it wasn't my intention to hurt you." Kira didn't respond, just nodded, grabbed her coffee cup and retreated back into her room to escape. His blood burned in his veins. "May I kill him?" He growled through his teeth.

Jupiter nodded, "I think I might just let you. She's never been like that before." As if just realizing something, she snapped around to look at him, slapping his arm as she went. "And what about you, Mr. Tough Guy? You get shot and don't even feel it, but her stepping on your wing hurt?"

"They're sensitive."

"Yeah, whatever. Listen, don't kill him, but make sure he pays for hurting Lee. I can't believe he just got away with it."

"I promise you, Your Highness, he will most certainly _not_ be getting away with anything."

"Good. We'll be fine for a few days. Do you think you can track him? I don't know where he lives."

"I'd have to get my hands on something that he recently touched." Caine stated, the feathers ruffling as he spoke.

"Wait until we leave for work tomorrow, she's got a bunch of stuff from his house. He's bound to have touched something in there."

)0(

The next day, Caine hid in the bathroom when the older women came in to meet with the younger ones. After they left. He immediately went to work. Underneath the potent scent that was purely Kira, there was something else. Something...bad. He tracked it to the closet, bare as it was. At the bottom of it were a few boxes. That was where the scent was coming from. The largest box, which seemed to be where the smell was coming from. Opening it, Caine drew back in surprise...It was a box full of women's undergarments. Clothing detergent did little to banish the pure Kira-scent, stronger, more pungent from where the cloth had been pressed and rubbing against the most intimate parts of her. It was dizzying, arousing even. Naturally, his tracking kicked in, and he could see, in his mind's eye, the fabric being pulled up over long legs, settling over-

No, he had a mission, given by his queen.

Focusing, he found the source of the stomach-churningly horrid smell. It was a pair of strange, black lacy undergarments...panties, he remembered Jupiter calling them once. Compared to those he had seen before, these were larger, supposedly to accommodate the larger posterior of the woman in question. Caine held them up between his hands, attempting to find the reason for them to smell so strongly of someone not Kira...he found it. A spread-out stain, white in color. He nearly dropped them. Surely, with how much he had hurt her, she hadn't allowed him to touch her while wearing this particular pair, considering there were far more unseemly undergarments in the box. Caine held the underwear carefully, trying his hardest not to touch the stain, and held it as close to his nose as he dared.

Visions of a man infiltrated his mind, grabbing the garment he now held out of a drawer. He was looking around as if worried he'd be caught. Suddenly, he was assaulted with the sight of the lace being shoved down the front of his jeans, his hand rubbing it up and down against his genitals.

Caine growled loudly and threw the panties as far away from him as possible. The hit the wall across the room soundlessly and slid to the floor. Yes, this man would pay. To harm a woman, and then treat her and her things as one's possessions, was despicable. Even though he had been raised as a defective Splice, having been abused, bullied, and almost murdered several times, he still couldn't stand it when it was someone else. From what he could tell, Kira had worn the panties maybe once, long ago; though there was no imprinted memory of any fornication from them. They had been a gift from the same man who had used them as a device to jerk himself off. It sickened him.

Running his hands through his blonde hair, Caine swore to make sure to punish this man to the fullest of his ability. He wouldn't kill him, even if Jupiter had not forbade him from it. Caine wanted this man to suffer, the same way he had caused Kira to suffer. Pushing himself to a standing position, he scooped up the panties and stuffed them in his jacket pocket. He had to leave as soon as possible, but before he did, he left a short note for Her Majesty, letting her know where he had gone and what his intentions were. At the end of it, he assured her that he would give a full report upon his return, then wrote her name on it so that her cousin wouldn't accidently read it. He used one of the magnets, and stuck it to the refrigerator. He was gone out the window less than two seconds later.

)0(

It was already dark when the girls returned home from work. Kira held in her hand a newspaper so that she could see about finding another job, one that didn't need her to be up at 4:45 every morning. Jupiter had ducked into her room to put her stuff up, while her cousin went to get a beer from the fridge.

"Hey, Jupe?" She called.

"What's up?" The older woman stepped out, having changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, was pulling her hair out of it's restraint.

"Your boyfriend left something for you." Kira handed her the note, Jupiter's name written in loopy script on the front.

"He's not my boyfriend, Lee. I told you that already."

Kira just shrugged and took a sip of her beer. "Whatever, he follows you around and tries to sneak through your window."

"That's because he my security liaison..." She sighed. "Bodyguard." Jupiter gave the letter a once over, a small smile creeping over her face.

"What's up?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Caine's just gone away for a few days. He's following a lead on something. Security issues. Gotta make sure Titus and Kalique don't try to take the Earth from me again."

"And Titus and Kalique are...?"

"The last two of the Abraxas siblings still alive. Titus was the one that tried to make me marry him, remember?"

"Right..." Kira rolled her eyes and went to sit down on the couch.

"Their older brother, Balem, tried to kill me."

"Except that you killed him instead."

Jupiter sat beside her, huffing. "I didn't kill him. He fell into a fire pit when his refinery destabilized and went up in flames."

"The same refinery where they turned human's into a youth potion?"

"That's the one."

"Then I'm glad he's dead. Creepy fucking bastard. Anyway, did dog-boy tell you where he was going?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm sure we can get along by ourselves for a few days." Jupiter snatched up the remote. "My turn to pick."

)0(

Caine had tracked his prey far away from Chicago, all the way to the southernmost part of the country, Miami, Florida to be exact. With a smell as strong as this, it was easy to do. It led him to an apartment complex, one specific one at the end of the street, built slightly farther away from the rest. He supposed that it had been chosen because of that, as there were several others that were unoccupied. Even if the door had been locked, it would have been exceedingly simple for him to enter unannounced; but whoever lived here must have been truly stupid to think that they were safe without their doors locked. The door did not creek at all, despite the decrepit state of the place. How could have Kira ever lived here willingly? It was no wonder that the man who lived here smelled so bad. Living in such conditions tended to alter the biology of the body. Caine paused every so often to take pictures of the apartment, for his report when he got back to Chicago.

Farther back in the house, the smell was the strongest. But, he stopped. There was a door to the right of him, closed tightly. From behind it, he could smell something so familiar by now. That same strange electric scent mixed with something like jasmine. He opened it, momentarily distracted from his mission. Inside, the room was trashed, clothes thrown everywhere, ceramic knick-knacks smashed against the walls, pictures on the ground with the glass broken. It suddenly dawned on him that Kira must have not slept in the same room as the man that he now tracked. Sure, his scent was there, but it was only recently. He must have destroyed her things after she left. Besides that, he imagined that she had kept it cleaner than the rest of the house. Then he remembered how bare her room had been. Looking around, he saw all the things she was missing. A real bed, a dresser, bedside table, bookshelves with multitudes of books and spaces for her personal items.

He would deal with this shortly, right now, he had to deal with the bastard in the other room. The man didn't even wake up when Caine opened the door to the room where he slept. The horrid scent of bodily fluids, vomit, and alcohol permeated the room, causing him to gag and reel back. Stomping into the mess that was the bedroom, and grabbing up the snoring man by the scruff of his neck. Immediately, he started squealing and weakly attempting to fight his way out of the hold.

"Marcus Forsyth?"

"Who are you? What do you want? I promise, I'll pay Tommy next week, I already made the deal with the buyer."

"Shut up. I don't know who Tommy is. I'm here on behalf of friend of mine, maybe you know here." Pulling the defiled underwear from his pocket, Caine held them up in front of the man's face. "Recognize these?"

Mark's eyes widened, a choking sound coming from him as spit started foaming at the sides of his mouth. "Where the hell did you get those?! Kira Lee didn't send you, she wouldn't! The bitch don't have a damn backbone to."

"You're right. She didn't send me. In fact, she doesn't even know I'm here." Looking over the man, Caine saw that he might have been considered handsome, if not for the fact that he was unwashed and covered in his own vomit. "But, I'm here for her none the less. You hurt her."

"I didn't do a damn thing to her! She made it all up, tried to get me arrested because I wouldn't fucking pay for her goddamn school. Bitch had the balls to try to extort me, then fuckin' went behind my back and fucked my buddy for revenge."

Caine nodded his head, "Well that would change things, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Mark said as the other man started to put him down.

But, he didn't give him a chance to put his feet on the ground. Mark screamed like a little girl when Caine threw him against the wall. "See, thing is, I know what you did. I know that Kira suffered. You hurt her, beat her like a dog." With each point, Caine either slammed him against the wall, or punched him in the face. "And when she still wouldn't submit to you, you hurt her even more." At that, he threw the sobbing man across the room, causing him to land on a drum set. "Did it make you feel good? Did it make you feel like a real man when you reduced her to little more than a shell of what she was when you first managed to trick her into consorting with you? Did you get off seeing her broken and beaten, crying on the floor?" He grabbed him up by the stained white tank top, forcing him to stand.

"Bitch had it comin'. Always harpin' on me about the house, tellin' me to get a job all the time. Tried to tell me to quit hangin' with my buddies. Said they were gonna get me into trouble."

Once again, Caine slammed him into the drums. "No woman deserves to be beaten within an inch of her life, because she emasculated you! You are the scum of this Earth. It's a pity Her Majesty won't let me kill you." Setting him down and brushing off the disgusting cloth on his chest.

"You ain't gonna hurt anymore, are you?"

A grin broke over Caine's face, exposing the enlarged canines. It was a look that had had braver men shitting their pants. "Oh, don't worry. You'll only be in the hospital for a month or so."

He pounced.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three~ Story of My Life**_

 _ **A/N: KevlarKitten, I know you just posted your review, like, yesterday, but I've been fighting with myself to get anything out, and I've finally managed to finish this chapter. It's been sitting here half done for months.**_

 _ **Everyone else who loves this story, drop me a review so I know what you think and I can have more motivation to finish more chapters.**_

 _ **On with the show!**_

How Caine had figured out how to link his comm device to her phone, Jupiter would never understand. It was the end of the work day and her phone had been dinging almost none-stop letting her know she had a text message. For the most part she ignored it. Kira, on the other hand, kept looking up from the bathtub she was scrubbing, one eyebrow slowly making it's way into her hairline with each ding. Eventually, Jupiter threw down her toilet scrubber when there was a series of four dings in quick succession.

"Jesus fucking Christ!"

"The Lord's fucking name." Kira chirped from the other side of the bathroom. Jupe just rolled her eyes and unlocked her phone, and opened Caine's message line, and gawped at what she was greeted with.

Pictures of Mark's house, the pig stye that it was, going room by room. Kira's room was the cleanest one, and it was destroyed. What came next both horrified her, and filled her with an odd sense of satisfaction. Mark was lying in the trash heap that was his bed, covered in vomit and blood. His face was a bloody mess, and it looked like at least one of his appendages were broken. Underneath the picture was a message that read: _If I do much more, I might kill him._

 _Good. Make sure the police pick him up. Get the hell out of there._

 _)0(_

Kira watched her cousin's face change dramatically over the course of less than a minute. At first, she looked scared, then like she was going to throw up, then very much like the cat that ate the canary. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, a determined look in her eyes. Her phone dinged once more, causing her to seem puzzled, then she threw a quick look in Kira's direction, and replied to the text.

"What's dog-boy want? We got work to finish up." Kira griped as she poured the a bucket of water along the sides of the tub, washing away the soap.

Jupiter's eyes shot up, almost as if she had forgotten her cousin was still in the room; stuffing her phone back in her pocket, she cleared her throat. "Um, nothing. He was just checking in." Kira just 'mmm'ed at her and finished her chore, moving on to the bedroom.

"Whatever you say, cuz."

"Jupiter! Kira Lee! Are you finished up here yet?"

"Just about done, Mama. We just have to finish changing the sheets. Hey, uh, Lee?"

"Yeah?" She answered, not looking up from where she was swiping Pledge over the dark wood of the dresser.

"Do you want to go out tomorrow night?"

Kira looked up at her cousin, eyebrow raised. "It's only Tuesday."

"So?"

"So, if you mean going out and drinking, there won't be very many places open for us to go."

"No, I mean, out for dinner, maybe go see a movie. You know, girl stuff."

"Jupe, we have Netflix and wine at the house."

"Yeah, but, I think it would be nice for the two of us to go out and just...hang out."

Searching her face closely, Kira said, "You're acting really weird. Is everything ok?"

"Fine, yeah, everything's totally fine."

)0(

Wednesday night after work, Jupiter and Kira stopped off back at the apartment so they could change into some nicer clothes than the jeans and t-shirts they had worn to work. Kira tended not to leave her hair down, for her own reasons, but she figured it would be nice to let it be free of its usual confines. What little make-up she had brought included eyeliner, blush, and lipstick. The rest of it had been left at Mark's house, so she would eventually have to buy some more. Until then, it would do. Not that she usually wore a lot of make-up, another nice thing from her heritage, clear skin. Kira skimmed over her meager options of nice clothing from her closet, settling on a long, flowy purple tunic, paired with her nicest light-colored jeans. She picked out the only pair of heels she had...actually they were boots, but they had heels that were a little higher, so they counted in her mind.

Jupiter had opted for a long skirt and light green blouse over thick tights and boots as well, though hers did not add as much height as Kira's did. The two of them walked side by side down the street to a nice-ish restaurant, and Jupe pulled her phone out the moment they left the building, sending a text to Caine.

 _We're out. Go for it._

She didn't get a response, probably because he was too busy. With a smile on her face, Jupiter led her cousin out of the autumn wind and they sat down.

"So, what was that about?" Kira asked her as their dinner was brought out.

"What?"

She gave her cousin her best _you-know-what_ look. "That thing earlier, with the phone and the smile."

"Oh, that was nothing. Caine said he was on his way back, probably drop by the apartment tomorrow." She waved the subject off and dug into her food.

"You know, you don't have to pretend." Jupiter's eyes shot up from her plate. "If you two are still together, there's no reason for you to tell me you're not. It's none of _my_ business. You can date who you want."

"It's not that, Lee."

"Then what? Because he's a Splice? What does that have to do with anything? He seems...nice, I suppose. You need to follow what your heart tells you...even if it seems like it's going the wrong way."

"Lee, seriously, that is not at _all_ what's going on." The older woman put hand over hers on the table. "Honestly, you just made the exact same argument I did when me and Caine first met. He didn't think I should feel like that about him because I'm royalty and he's genomengineered." Kira laughed when her cousin made a face at the phrase. "I'm not even kidding. We tried, we really did. It just didn't work out. Neither of us holds any grudge to the other, because it just wasn't meant to be. Now, are you gonna keep questioning my taste in guys or are you going to eat?" She asked, pointing the plate that was still untouched before her.

The rest of dinner was pretty normal, filled with talk of jobs and places and information about the other worlds where Jupiter had been. Kira was in awe at the way she described Kalique's planet of flowers and temple looking architecture. Later, it turned out that there were no good movies out, so they decided to get ice cream and walked around the park. As they moved around in a leisurely pace, they played a game that had been a favorite as children. It went like this: one of them would point out someone, and the other had to come up with some sort of backstory for that person. The whole time, the older of the two kept checking her phone. Sometimes she had a text, sometimes it looked like she was waiting for something.

"Mmh, what about that one?" Jupiter pointed at an old lady out feeding pigeons.

"Well, her name is...Marian Levensky...and she was married really young." Kira took a bite of her mint chocolate chip ice cream as she thought. "Right out of high school, had to run away to another state with him, because her daddy didn't like...let's name him Frank. That's why she's here in Chicago. They got married here, lived happily for several years. Then one day, she surprised him with an extra special dinner, and after they were finished and she had brought him his usual beer in front of the TV, she came out and told him she was pregnant. Years past, more babies came, they struggled to keep up with bills, so she had to get a job. Marian became a seamstress once the babies were old enough to all be in school during the day, and worked from home as a tupperware saleswoman. After climbing all the way to the top and becoming top in her region, her babies were all grown up and moved out, so her and her hubby retired. They had so much saved up after all those years, that they never had to work again." Then her eyes turned sad, "But, several years ago, Frank passed away from a heart attack. It's been long enough that she can get by without him, but she's still brokenhearted, that's why she feeds the birds everyday, so she doesn't feel so alone."

Jupiter stared at her cousin for a minute. "You always come up with the best stories." Wrapping her arm around Kira, she leaned the younger woman against her side. Until her phone buzzed in her pocket. It seemed to Kira what she had been waiting for, because she suddenly stood up and threw away her empty ice cream cup. "Come on, it's getting late, and we've got work tomorrow."

"You're the one who wanted to come out, remember?" Kira shook her head, but followed her anyway. The walk back was quiet, but Jupiter seemed to be buzzing with excitement. It was all Kira could do not to smack her. "Seriously, what is wrong with you tonight? You haven't stopped moving since you got up this morning."

"Nothing's wrong with me. What's wrong with _you_?" She responded in jest.

"You're just acting really weird. It's freaking me out. Dog-boy isn't gonna come climbing through my window in the middle of the night again, is he?"

"I doubt it. More than likely he'll use the front door from now on. Lord knows he needs a real place to sleep beside a roof."

Kira stopped in her tracks. "Excuse me, but did you just say you've been letting your _security liaison_ sleep on a goddamn roof? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"It's not like I could let him sleep in my room, Lee. And besides, he's stubborn as a damn mule." Her phone buzzed again.

 _I heard that._

She couldn't help it. Jupiter started laughing out loud. When Kira looked at her like she'd just grown a second head, she just waved at her to open the door to the apartment building. The climbed the three flights of stairs and unlocked the door to their apartment. Kira followed her cousin back towards the hallway, breaking off from her when they came to their rooms.

"If dog-boy is gonna be staying here, we need to get a better couch. Maybe something that pulls out. He's too tall for ours." Kira said, her hand on the doorknob. "I don't know what his job parameters are, but I'm sure he'd rather be actually in the apartment in case something happens than up on the roof."

Jupiter seemed to be staring at her hand. "You're right. We'll have to save up for it."

"Save up? Aren't you the queen of Earth, or something, cuz?"

"Sort of, but that doesn't mean I'm materially rich down here. Right now, I'm just Jupiter Jones. Besides, it's not as if there's an office for monetary exchange between alien riches and American dollars."

"Or maybe there is and you just don't know about it." Kira snarked. "Anyway, whatever. We'll figure something out." She smiled at her cousin and turned the knob. Upon entering the room, Kira froze. For a moment, she wondered if she had gotten her and Jupe's rooms mixed up, and then she felt like she'd stepped back in time. Taking a few steps into the room, Kira couldn't believe her eyes.

Where her pitiful mattress had once been, her old bed now stood, covered in fresh sheets, pillows piled exactly like she always put them. Beside it was her nightstand, alarm clock glaring red numbers at her. Her dresser/vanity sat against the wall ajacent to her, looking much better than the last time she'd clapped eyes on it. The dark wood no longer bore the scuffs and scratches that had been the evidence of Mark's wrath, and it was polished to a shine. Against the other wall, next to her favorite rocking chair, her old bookshelves where present, holding all the novels and informative books she owned and had treasured, but had not been able to bring with her. In truth, Kira had been sure that Mark had burned them when she left. Pictures of family, knick-knacks that she had collected over the years adorned the shelves. Turning, she noticed that her closet looked much fuller than it had before the girls had left for dinner.

"Oh, my god." She breathed, running her hand over the bookshelf. "How...Jupiter, how..."

Hearing footsteps, Kira turned around, seeing Caine standing just behind her cousin, holding his hands behind him. "I apologize if it's not exactly how you like it. I did my best based on the way it was set up before." If she didn't know any better, Jupiter might have thought the tips of her bodyguard's ears were turning pink. "I managed to repair the damage done to your belongings, though it might not be perfe-" His words were cut off when Kira ran across the room and hugged him around the neck. Caine stumbled backwards at the sudden addition of weight, quickly steadying himself with one hand on the door frame, and the other on the woman's back.

"Thank you," she whispered into the crook between his neck and shoulder.

Jupiter stood back, watching the exchange. The look of astonishment on Caine's face was priceless, as was the way he, somewhat awkwardly, wrapped his arms around her cousin as a response to her thanks. It looked like he didn't know if he should actually hug her back or push her away, and he looked to her in a pleading way. She just nodded her head towards Kira, then made her quiet escape to her own bedroom. Kira, in fact, had felt his initial hesitation when she hugged him, the way he staggered. She smiled when his arms finally tightened around her waist and he hugged her back. In fact, he could have sworn she felt lips in her hair and warm breath tickling her scalp as he breathed.

"What did you do with the other mattress?" She asked.

The Splice cleared his throat as he pulled away from her. "As it would seem to be a waste to just throw out a perfectly good mattress...I hid it in the kitchen until you saw the room."

Kira snorted. "Seriously? How did you even fit it in there?"

He shrugged, "It took some doing, but I managed. What should I do with it?"

With a brief look of contemplation, she placed a finger to her chin. "Jupe and I were just talking about what we were gonna do for your sleeping arrangement-"

"I am aware of that. I heard." With a small gesture towards his pointed ears, which were still flushed, he chuckled a little.

"Ok, so...If you're ok with sleeping on just a crappy little mattress until we can get something better for you, we can set it up in the living room. Rig up a few curtains to make an extra room."

Caine raised a single blond brow at her. "And what of your family? Will they not think it is strange for you to have a room of curtains in your home? Especially if it has a bed in it?"

"Nah," Kira told him, waving a hand dismissively. "All we have to say is that it's a mini art-studio. I like to paint occasionally. They know that, so it won't be too weird."

"And what if they ask to see your paintings?"

"Nah, I'm picky about them. If I want someone to see my work, I'll bring it out and show them. Perfectionism is hell."

"What if someone came into your room and happen to see them?" Caine's voice had a hint of something indescribable. Kira's head shot up and her eyes widened when she saw his expression. He had a small smile, like he was trying not to. She floundered for a moment, not able to create words. "I found them under the bed when I was collecting your belongings." Beckoning with his head for her to follow him, he knelt to the floor beside her old bed and pulled a big sterlite box out from under it. "They are very good." His ears started turning pink again as he rushed to defend himself. "I didn't mean to look, but I needed to know if they were something that you would want to have back instead of..." He turned his head back to her, only to see her covering her mouth with both hands and tears in her eyes. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

Kira shook her head. As Caine turned his whole body, she knelt down next to him and hugged him again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" This time, she placed a kiss on his cheek. She was so excited, she didn't even register it, though he did. "That's what I did for a living back in Miami while I was at school. For some reason, people like to see the things that go on in my head. But those ones...they were the ones I didn't want to sell because they were so special to me. Mark tried selling them while I was at work one night to a dealer friend of his instead of paying him. It wasn't good. I came home to him pretty badly messed up and the dealer apologizing to me for him. Isn't that crazy? The _dealer_ thought it was bad that he was selling them without telling me."

"Some people know the value that certain things hold for someone. Not every person on the wrong side of the law is unknowing of these things, nor are they particularly bad. Just...on the wrong side." Once Kira had let go of him, he stood up. She didn't look at him, but started going through the box to make sure everything was there. He left her to herself, knowing that she would like some time. When the door was closed, he turned to find Jupiter sitting on the couch, tearing up a bit as well.

"I think she's finally warmed up to you, Caine."

"What do you mean?" His head cocked to the side a little, trying to understand.

"Those paintings are her life. Even when we were kids, she was always drawing. Kira Lee has trouble explaining how she feels sometimes, what's going on in her head. So, she paints. And people understand. That's why she was able to support herself and Mark for over a year. You just brought back a part of her that was missing. Never mind the furniture, although it was really nice. Those art pieces, those were the most important things to her. Thank you, Caine."

"It seems everyone is thankful to me today."

"Because everyone has reason to be. You did good today, and she's not liable to forget it any time soon." With that, she rose from her spot on the couch and walked past him, patting his shoulder. "Get some rest, you've had a busy day." Then she disappeared into her room.

It didn't take long for him to remove the mattress from the kitchen and place it under the window in the living room. In the next room, he could hear Kira moving around, getting used to having all her things back. The thought of it brought a smile to his face, then a heat to the spot where she had kissed his cheek. He touched it, trying to see if it was any warmer than the rest of him. It wasn't, not to his touch, but he could still feel it.


End file.
